Martine van der Pluijm

31 Activities and strategies – a review of empirical interventions For parental behavior to be effective, lower-educated parents need additional knowledge about child education and child support (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Sheridan, Marvin, Knoche, & Edwards, 2008). Several studies have shown that methods such as modeling and practice are effective in activating parents to use the targeted strategies according to the intervention goals (Bandura, Blanchard, & Ritter, 1969; Grindal et al., 2016; Haguenauer et al., 2005; Kaminsky, Valle, Filene, & Boyle, 2008). Other studies have shown that professionals who can create a relationship of trust through the use of reciprocal communication are more effective in changing parental behavior than those that do not use this type of communication (Bakker et al., 2013; Lusse, 2013; Sheridan et al., 2008). There seems to be a paucity of empirical knowledge about effective modes of delivery for activities and strategies that promote children’s development, specifically those directed at lower-educated parents. These parents may come from several cultural backgrounds and may also have difficulty speaking and understanding the dominant language of the host country. These diverse backgrounds of the target population often seem to be neglected (Manz et al., 2010). It is important to take into account the multilingual and multicultural realities in the targeted parent population (Durgunoglu, 1998; Ezel, Gonzales, & Randolph, 2000). Programs directed at lower-educated parents often provide adult education directed at the language and literacy skills of the parents themselves (Wasik & Hermann, 2004). Additionally, workshops or group meetings to strengthen parental knowledge about child development may be important for the delivery to the target group of lower-educated parents (Kagitcibasi, Sunar, & Bekman, 1988). Such workshops can be extended by hands-on parent activities at school and during home visits and are assumed to involve parents actively in the learning process of their child (St. Pierre et al., 2005). Finally, child involvement during these activities may also be an important aspect of the delivery of family literacy interventions to lower-educated parents (Jacobs, 2004). Due to their importance, analysis of the modes of delivery of family literacy interventions used in empirical studies were also examined in this review. Research questions According to several meta-studies, the effects of family literacy interventions on the language development of young children are promising. However, it is still unclear which activities and strategies can successfully be used in supporting lower-educated parents to promote their children’s oral language development and what delivery modes are effective for target populations. Thus, there are two research questions for the present review: 1) What are effective activities and strategies that can be used by lower-educated parents to promote their children’s oral language development? And 2) What are effective modes of delivery of these activities and strategies?